Should new lifters learn to deadlift right away?

March 4, 2019, 8:11 am

I have a friend that's never lifted before but wants to learn how. Should he start learning to deadlift right away by practicing with a PVC pipe and with light weight? Or should he focus on only acessory exercises first until he's conditioned enough to move forward with the deadlift?

Should new lifters learn to deadlift right away?

I have a friend that's never lifted before but wants to learn how. Should he start learning to deadlift right away by practicing with a PVC pipe and with light weight? Or should he focus on only acessory exercises first until he's conditioned enough to move forward with the deadlift?

Hello !

That depends a bit on strenght level to begin with. But in general I would say the deadlift is a fantastic exercise to learn good posture and exercise form which will help in other movements. I would indeed suggest starting with PVC pipe and some light weight. I would also suggest having a personal trainer or at least someone who really knows what they are doing to check the form to make sure its correct. That is because the deadlift is a very dangerous exercise if done wrong.

When it comes to doing accessory movements in general it depends on goals in my opinion. If you want to get jacked and gain muscle overall then compound movements is where you want to spend the most of your time.

If you want to shape and gain muscle and strenght in a specific area, accessory movements will aid in that.

Now, if the person really does not know anything about training nor have any basic strenght, I would personally start with something a little more simple. Doing the very first pull up for instance is a good first goal- then work up a little to let's say 5 (just to throw out an arbitrary number). The deadlift can be a bit tricky without any experience.

To sum it up: Depends on the person to be honest. Nothing wrong with trying deadlifts though and see if it works.

Should new lifters learn to deadlift right away?

March 4, 2019, 9:00 pm

Hey man, I appreciate the advice! He runs a lot and does a lot of calesthenics but wants to change things up to build muscle mass. Unfortunately where we live there isn't easy access to personal trainers. I want to make sure he's not potentially compromising himself by starting an advanced exercise too quickly.

Should new lifters learn to deadlift right away?

I have a friend that's never lifted before but wants to learn how. Should he start learning to deadlift right away by practicing with a PVC pipe and with light weight? Or should he focus on only acessory exercises first until he's conditioned enough to move forward with the deadlift?

The best way to learn how to deadlift is to literally do the exercise. Sure accessory movements will help strengthen and build the muscles associated with deadlifting, but they won't necessarily help with the actual deadlift form. The best way to learn form is to practice it.

So I suggest that your friend does start with light weight. A PVC pipe is fine to start with, so long as you can have it sitting on boxes or something so it's at about the same height as a bar would be with a 45lb plate on each side. If you have access to a gym that has bumper plates, then your friend might be able to start with the bar plus 10lbs on each side.

I'm guessing you know a little bit about lifting? So you can help him with the form, plus you can show him my deadlift fundamentals series and you can also film his form and post it here for us to look at if you like!